blessing ☁️ on Nostr: We open on a swooping shot of Land Valley High School, its sign displayed prominently ...
We open on a swooping shot of Land Valley High School, its sign displayed prominently in front of the school building. It is a sunny autumn afternoon. Upbeat music plays.
Dissolve to interior, hallway with lockers. It is 1972 and cool guy Marty McFly is leaving class. He adjusts his varsity jacket, his trusty orange vest underneath. His girlfriend Sandra, who has frizzy shoulder-length hair, meets him at his locker.
"Ready for the game this weekend, Marty?" she says, chewing bubblegum.
"I think so, Sandra," Marty replies. He is down to earth and naturally talented at everything, but still has to seem humble and unaware of his gifts so as to be likeable to the audience.
"Heads up!" a voice shouts from offscreen. Marty looks up and catches a football against his chest. Marty's black friend Sam jogs past, pointing at his friend while Marty passes him the ball back. "You coming to practice?"
"I can't today, I got to work on a project," Marty drawls back. Sam runs off. Marty and Sandra leave the school to walk home together.
"It's gonna be good, right, Marty?" Sandra says, looking up at him with doe eyes as they stand on a sidewalk in the town square. A large clock tower casts a shadow over the three way intersection. The time reads 4:15pm. "When we go off to college next year?"
"Yeah Sandra it's gonna be radical," he replies. "I'm going to get accepted to Boston too, you'll see."
"I'll just be so much happier when I know for sure!"
He kisses her on the cheek and puts on his sunglasses.
"I'm home!" Marty yells as he comes in through the back door of his house, taking off his sunglasses.
"How was school, Marty?" his mother, Deborah, says, stepping away from the sink and wiping her hands on her apron. His father, Joe, seated at the table, flicks his newspaper and eyes him over the top.
"It was good. Any mail come for me today?"
Deborah smiles sympathetically and touches her husband's shoulder. "Not today. You want something to eat?"
"I'll eat later, Ma," Marty says, running out of the kitchen as he takes his bookbag off his shoulder and removes his varsity jacket.
Deborah continues to rub her husband's shoulder. "He's such a good boy, Joe. He wants to go to Boston University just like his dad."
"Yes, Deborah," Joe grunts in response, still reading the paper.
Shot of the interior of a large shed as Marty opens the door. A dusty work table holds a diorama he has been working on for the science fair. He sighs and begins tinkering with parts of it.
Suddenly, there is a huge flash of light and a loud explosion behind him. Marty jumps, knocking over the diorama. The shed is filled with smoke. After several moments, Marty is able to see a little more clearly. He steps forward.
The music swells as a large Delorean is revealed, suddenly sitting in the middle of the shed.
Marty's mouth hangs open as he approaches the door. He has never seen such a futuristic-looking 90's car. His hand, trembling, reaches out for the handle, when suddenly there is a loud hissing sound and the doors begin to raise. Marty jumps back as both sides open vertically.
"Oh.. Ouch..." a voice grunts as a figure emerges from the smoking car. It is an old man in a scientist coat with wild frizzy white hair. He looks extremely disheveled. After a moment, he notices Marty with some surprise.
"Oh. It's you! Get in!"
"G-Get in? What do you mean?" Marty stammers, but the man is already crawling back in to the driver's seat.
"The quantum flux capacitor seems to be having problems, but if you're here then that means we must be on the right track," the man says, looking at the complicated dashboard. When Marty doesn't move, he looks up. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
Without thinking, Marty dashes for the passenger seat and sits down, looking at the old man with a bewildered expression. The doors begin to close and Marty looks at them uneasily. The man is still fiddling with knobs and levers.
"If you were just going to ditch me once we got back here, then why did you even ask for my help?" the man laments to Marty.
"Me? I asked for your help?" Marty asks. The man is revving the engine.
"Yes, that's precisely what you said. 'Doc, take me back to 1972.' There we go, it's ready." The Delorean begins to rumble and a seatbelt slides down automatically into place over Marty's chest. Doc looks over at Marty with a wild glint in his eye and grins.
"Hold on tight, kid, it's travelin' time!"
In a blinding flash of white light, the Delorean begins to smear forward as it's pulled into a time warp. We get a brief scene of flashing tunnels of light and Marty screaming as he grips the inside of the door.
Extreme closeup of Marty with his eyes squeezed shut. After a moment, we zoom out to see he is no longer in the Delorean.
Marty opens his eyes and looks around in shock, gasping for breath. He is standing in the same town square that he had passed through earlier with his girlfriend. The clock tower shows 5:15pm. Something seems different, though.
The trees are smaller. The shops seem more antique. The movie titles on the marquee are different.. They're for old movies. Couples walk arm in arm together gaily. He realizes all the girls are wearing poodle skirts and have their hair curled at the end.
Confused, Marty dashes to a newspaper machine. "FIVE CENTS" the sticker says. "Five cents..." Marty mouths to himself as he digs in his pocket breathlessly. He pulls out a nickel and fumbles it into the slot, pulling out a paper and inspecting it frantically.
"THE LEXINGTON TIMES
Thursday, September 18, 1952"
Marty lowers the paper, staring around in shock and horror. He sits down on a bench and puts his hand to his head.
After a few minutes, his stomach growls. He frowns and looks around, noticing the Taco Hell taco stand across the square. He stands up and uneasily walks towards it.
Interior Taco Hell, evening.
The bell on the door jingles as Marty walks in to a harshly lit, sterile taco shop. Several tables are occupied, some with teens sipping sodas, some with old people. A pimply teen in a paper hat stands behind the counter.
"Welcome to Taco Hell, can I take your order," the kid says to him unenthusiastically. He seems to be about Marty's age. Marty looks at the menu above.
"I'll, uh, I-I'll just have the taco combo," Marty says, still shaken. The boy starts preparing his order as Marty looks around. Outside, a woman rides by on a vintage bicycle. Suddenly, bell of the door jangles as it whips open. A cool-looking guy walks in, flanked by two cronies. He has cool black greaser hair and cool clothes and jeans. He saunters in, laughing loudly with his buddies. He walks up to the counter and unabashedly goes behind it, grabbing a tortilla chip from a basket.
"You can't be back here," the teen says annoyedly.
"Well hurry it up, won't ya?" the bully booms as he strolls back to the front of the counter. "We're starvin' here!"
The teen is putting Marty's tacos into a small cardboard dish. "That'll be fifty cents," he says sullenly, still eyeing the kid and his two friends as they whoop and holler, rough-housing in the restaurant and causing a chair to rattle, startling two elderly patrons seated in the booth by the window. Marty digs into his vest pocket and produces a wrinkled $10 bill and lays it on the counter. The teen looks at it uncomfortably, then back at Marty.
"U-Uh.. I'll have to see if I can make change.." he hesitantly opens the register. The bully comes over.
"Well! Ten dollar bills for tacos, eh? Just how much dough ya carrying around, kid?" He gets all up in Marty's face.
"Probably more than you," Marty replies a little more confidently, puffing out his chest, which already looks puffy because of his famous vest that he never removes, even during sex with his hot girlfriend Sandra.
"What did you just say to me?!" the boy shouts. We get a shot of them nose to nose.
"Leave him alone, Bif!" a sweet, melodic voice rings out. They turn to see a teenage girl standing up from one of the tables where she has been with her friends. She is also wearing a poodle skirt and looks extremely 50's.
"Aw, Dee, we was just playin' around," Bif scratches his head and turns his attention to his buddies. Dee walks up to Marty.
"I've never seen you in here before. You from around here?" she smiles.
Marty stammers. "U-Uh, no! I'm just visiting some family." His instinct to chat up a cute girl kicks in.
"Do you wanna come eat your tacos with us?" she gestures to the table where two other girls chew on their straws and smile languidly.
"Sure! You ladies want anything?" he grins. The girls immediately perk up and look at each other excitedly. Bif looks annoyed.
Marty sits with the three girls over various baskets of cheap tacos and tortilla chips. Bif has fucked off after bothering the cashier a little more. Dee squeezes Marty's bicep.
"You play sports?" she says in a breathy voice.
"Yeah, I'm on the football team. Varsity," Marty replies with a slanted, confident smile. "Maybe we'll play you guys sometime. Would sure love to see you in your cheerleader uniforms." The girls giggle.
After dinner, Dee and Marty walk slowly through the town square. It is nighttime and the clock face is illuminated. Dee holds her jacket in her arms.
"Maybe you could come pick me up after school tomorrow," Dee says, "and we could go see it together?"
"Sounds far out!" Marty says.
Dee looks at him all dreamily and waves goodbye as she heads off. Marty sighs and puts his hands in his vest pockets, plopping down onto a bench.
After a few moments, he notices a figure across the town square, bobbing up and down as they seem to be looking at him. Marty squints and sits up.
The person seems to recognize him and starts heading his way. As they pass under a streetlamp, Marty sees the lab coat and frizzy white hair. He jumps to his feet.
"Hey!" he rushes over to Doc. The old man is out of breath.
"Have.. Have we met before?" he says, labored. "You look real familiar."
"Yes we've met before, you're the one who brought me here!" Marty says through clenched teeth. "Now tell me just what is going on!"
"So, you're not from this time period?"
"No, I'm from 1972. Nineteen-seventy-two. And I'm pretty sure this is NOT 1972!"
Doc sighs and produces a complicated-looking remote control from his lab coat pocket. He pulls up a long antennae and flips a switch. It begins to beep.
"No.. In fact.. By my calculations, we are in precisely 1952 right now."
"Well why the hell did you bring me here!" Marty shouts.
"Oh, Doc, you've really done it this time," Doc says to himself miserably. "Did the Doc who brought you here tell you why?"
"NO!"
"Well, no worries, just stay put. We'll figure it all out. Get some rest." Doc turns away from him.
"Wha-where?!" Marty starts after him. The old man heads down an alleyway. Marty follows. "You can't just leave me here, take me home!"
"I need some time to configure the Delorean," Doc says as they walk into a small space between the buildings where the futuristic car is parked. Smoke trails out of the back of it. Marty sighs, his brow furrowed.
Scene change. Marty stands in front of a large front desk in the deserted lobby of a hotel. He places another ten dollar bill on the counter. The woman behind the desk picks it up, looking at him suspiciously.
"You said you only wanted to stay for ONE night...?"
Scene change. Marty sits at a small, round table outside a restaurant in the town square, eating a plate of eggs. He watches the 50's antics happening around him.
Exterior, Land Valley High School, afternoon.
It is afternoon, and Marty walks past the sign for Land Valley High School. He opens the door to the building and walks inside, making his way to the quad.
In the quad, Dee is seated on a bench waiting for him. She smiles when she sees him.
"You came!" she pats the bench next to her. He takes a seat and she digs in her purse. She produces a small handkerchief which she unties to reveals spritz cookies. "Try these, I made them with my mother last night," she gushes. Marty takes one and pops it in his mouth.
"Huh, these are really good. My mom likes to bake stuff like this."
"That's swell," she smiles as he munches on the cookies. Suddenly, they hear a commotion behind them.
"Get the hell out of the way!" shouts Bif as he kicks a kid to the ground. His books fly everywhere. As the kid raises his head, Marty notices it is the taco shop employee.
"Stop it, leave him alone!" Dee cries as she runs over. Marty follows and pushes Bif away as he looms over the kid.
"Hey, why don't you mess with someone your own size?" Marty says, pushing his chest against Bif's. Bif glowers at him angrily.
"Like you, nimrod?" Bif retorts. "I'll take you on anytime!" A crowd is beginning to gather, whispering excitedly.
"Fine, then, Bif! My name is Marty and I challenge you..." he points his finger at Bif. "To a dance-off!"
Bif looks confused. Marty steps up onto a table and pulls his sunglasses out of his vest pocket and slips them on.
"Hit it, boys." A mic drops into his hand from off-camera.
Music beings to play: the song "She's a Lady" by Tom Jones. Marty begins to sing the song perfectly, boogieing around the courtyard to the delight of the students. None of them have ever heard this catchy and upbeat song. People begin to cheer and dance with him. Bif is horrified and embarrassed. At several points, Marty sings directly to Dee as she stares at him with starry eyes. By the end of the song, Bif has fled, humiliated, from the school grounds.
Exterior, Land Valley High School, sunset.
The crowd cheers for Marty and carries him out of the school on their shoulders. Dee trails behind and waits for him as the crowd disperses.
"Gee, Marty," Dee says, blushing. "You're really the bee's knees."
"Aw shucks, it was nothing," Marty grins sheepishly, taking off his sunglasses.
"Ready to go see the film?" she asks. He nods and they walk off holding hands.
Scene change. It is nighttime in the town square once again. A full moon hangs in the sky, mirroring the face of the clock tower. People are trickling out of the cinema. Dee looks up at Marty.
"I had a really nice time tonight, Marty."
"Me too."
She leans up and kisses him on the cheek. He watches her walk away, smiling happily. After a moment, he looks down at his hand.
A dissonant chord plays as he realizes his hand has become translucent. He holds it up in horror as the matter of his hand seems to shift, becoming partially see-through. After a few seconds, it stops and he breathes a sigh of relief. He heads into the taco shop to get a late night snack.
The place is noticeably emptier this time. The same teen stands, bored, behind the counter, and looks up at he sees Marty walk in in his distinctive getup.
"Oh... H-hey there," the kid says, flustered, remembering the events of earlier in the day.
"Hey, man, I'm sorry about that guy Bif," Marty begins to cut the tension. "He's an asshole."
"Oh. It's alright. ...Thanks." There is a pause. "What did you want?"
"Can I get the taco combo again?" The boy nods.
Marty smiles and sits down on one of the stools at the counter, glancing at the paper for a moment.
"Say, that girl you were with, Dee... She didn't come in tonight. She usually comes after school," the boy says to Marty as he cooks. "Were you two on a date?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Marty grins sheepishly. The boy nods, looking distinctly disappointed at the news. "I should have guessed a girl like that would have a boyfriend..."
"Well, I don't know about 'boyfriend'," Marty begins, but the boy waves. He sets down the tacos on the counter and Marty puts his hand in his pocket.
"It's on the house. I owe you one... Marty, was it?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Thanks, Marty. My name's Joe-"
Suddenly, the door bursts open, the bell rattling wildly. Doc rushes in. "Marty!"
Both boys look at him in shock. Doc runs over to him, barely able to contain himself. "It's fixed, we can go now." He turns to look briefly at Joe. "Hello." He turns back to Marty. "You ready?"
"I-I guess so," Marty frowns, unsure of what to do. He scoops up the dish of tacos and follows Doc outside and back to the alley. The Delorean is activated now and its headlights are on.
Marty finishes one of the tacos and sets the container down on top of a dumpster. He takes his sunglasses out of his vest pocket and puts them on. Doc is opening the doors of the Delorean with a hydraulic hiss.
"Well, I guess it's time to go back..." he whips off his shades and looks into the camera, "to the future!"
He hops in the passenger seat with much more eagerness than the first time as Doc again fiddles with the controls. The doors close and the seatbelt comes down.
"It's travelin' time!" Doc hollers with glee as the engine noise increases. The Delorean rockets forward into hyperspace. Doc and Marty rattle up and down. After another time travel montage, the Delorean is back in the shed, which has once again filled with smoke. The doors raise and Marty steps out cautiously. Doc, on his side, jumps out much more enthusiastically.
"Marvelous! Just marvelous! She's working just as intended!" Doc says, examining his remote control. Marty ignores him and opens the door of the shed. He steps out into the quiet night air. The lights are on inside his house. He can see the flickering cast by a television set in the living room.
Marty enters through the back door and the murmuring of the television can be heard.
"Where the fuck have you been?!" a loud, gruff voice booms from the living room. Marty stops dead in his tracks, not recognizing the voice. After a moment, he cautiously walks towards the living room.
"Why aren't you answering me? Huh?"
As the camera rounds the corner to reveal the living room, bathed in blue light from the television, we see a slovenly man with a pot belly wearing a wife beater sitting on a couch, eating pork rinds from a plastic bag. His black hair is greased back behind his receding hairline. He is Bif Senior.
Marty takes a step back in shock when he sees him. The man sits up, craning to see Marty in the doorway. "The hell's wrong with you?" Marty turns and runs away, through the kitchen into the bathroom. He fumbles with the light switch and flicks it on, revealing the mirror above the sink. Bif's face stares back at him from the mirror, equally horrified.
"Oh, God!" Marty moans in despair. He stumbles out the back door and runs to the shed. Doc is still standing next to the Delorean, playing with his remote control. He has goggles on now.
"Doc, something terrible has happened. This isn't the right future. I'm not the right me!" He reaches down to adjust his trademark vest and realizes he is no longer wearing it, but a black leather jacket. He recoils in horror. Doc lifts up his goggles and peers at Marty.
"Hmm.. You look the same to me," he shrugs.
"It's no good, Doc. We have to go back! Back... to the past!" He does not look into the camera this time, but pleadingly at Doc.
"Well, if you say so," Doc says and pushes a button on the remote control, causing the car's doors to open once again. They crawl in.
Interior Delorean. Doc flicks all the levers on the console once more and they shift into gear, phasing out of the shed. As the hyperdrive engages, the dashboard explodes with blue electricity. Doc yelps and recoils.
"Wh-what was that?!" Marty yells over the roar as they rattle violently through hyperspace.
"I-It's the c-capacitor, it's overloading!" Doc shouts as sparks dance before them. Marty shields his eyes as the view in front of the windshield grows brighter and brighter until it whites out the frame.
Marty opens his eyes. He is his old self, in his regular outfit. He breathes a sigh of relief.
He is standing at the entrance to the high school gymnasium. The lights are dimmed, and people are milling about inside. Music is playing softly. He can see the girls are wearing long, puffy dresses. He steps through the doorway into the room, looking up at the strings of balloons hanging from the rafters. Dee is walking up to him in a baby blue gown.
"I was afraid you wouldn't come," she smiles, glancing in confusion at how underdressed he is. "Well, it's no matter. Do you want some punch?" she grabs his hand and pulls him over to the punch bowl. He follows her, dazed by his surroundings. Suddenly, a microphone whistles and the music stops. A man coughs and adjusts his glasses on stage.
"Good evening, everyone! We hope you've been enjoying your prom so far. We have finished tallying the votes for prom king and queen, and it's time to announce your winners!"
The audience claps in delight and gathers around the stage. Dee squeezes Marty's hand, her eyes bright. "Oh, this is it!" she says in a hushed voice. They head towards the stage as well.
The man on stage produces an envelope and opens it, unfolding the piece of paper and squinting at it.
"This year's prom king by popular vote is.. Marty.. McFly?" the man half asks, confused. He looks up, searching the dark audience. The crowd looks around expectantly.
"Huh, me?" Marty says in a low voice. Dee turns to him.
"Is that you?" she tilts her head. "Are you related to Joe McFly?" she glances past Marty across the room. Marty follows her gaze to see the boy from the taco shop lurking in the corner in a shabby tux.
The audience is clapping and the spotlight has found Marty. Everyone is waiting for him to go up on the stage. Hesitantly, bewildered, he climbs the stairs and lets the confused principal place the crown on his head. The crowd erupts into cheers for their new hero. The principal turns back to the microphone.
"Uh, well anyway, and now to announce this year's prom queen.." he checks the paper. "It's Deborah Buford!"
Marty's eyes widen and his head swims as Dee's full name is read aloud and he realizes why she looks so familiar to him. He watches his mother gasp in delight, her hands over her mouth as she eagerly runs up onto the stage, accepting the bouquet of flowers and the crown. She grins at Marty. "Can you believe it?!" Confetti rains down from the rafters and the audience cheers uproariously. Dee grabs his hand and cameras flash as Marty stares straight ahead in disbelief. Near the back of the gymnasium, Marty suddenly notices Joe turn to leave, his shoulders slumped. Joe, his father. His father who he is ruining things for. He looks down, and his free hand is once again phasing out of existence. HE is phasing himself out of existence.
"Booooo!" comes a loud yell from the back of the crowd. People turn to see who's yelling. Bif, his tuxedo unbuttoned, cups his hands around his mouth as he loudly heckles the couple on stage. He picks up a punch glass and throws it, nearly hitting Marty. The audience gasps.
Suddenly, a loud crash rings out as the roof of the gymnasium breaks open and a massive lightning strike comes down the basketball hoop. People scream in horror and begin to scatter. Marty recognizes it as the same lightning as in the Delorean. "We've got to get out of here!" he yells to Dee, grabbing her hand.
Dee follows Marty as they run into the hallway. Thunder and lightning crash outside, searing the ground just outside the windows. Dee shrieks in fear. As they reach the front door the school, Marty sees the Delorean parked on the street. He turns to Dee.
"You have to get to safety." Joe is lurking nearby. They run over to him and Marty puts Dee's hand in Joe's. "Go with Joe. He's the best guy I know. He'll take care of you." Dee looks at Joe in confusion, but another loud lightning crack startles her into submission. She nods with tears in her eyes. Joe puts his arm around her and they hurry out. Marty runs to the Delorean. A violent thunderstorm, rain-free, is brewing ominously in the sky.
"What the heck is going on, Doc?!" he yells. Doc has his goggles on and the remote control is beeping furiously. The old man shakes his head.
"The timelines are converging. The fabric of spacetime is ripping apart. We jumped too many times! The universe is trying to get rid of us to correct the discrepancy!" He raises the doors of the Delorean and they jump inside as lightning strikes the ground nearby. The doors can't seem to close fast enough this time.
"Wh-what do we do?" Marty asks. There is sweat on his forehead.
"My radar is showing a strong source of quantum energy near here. We've got to head that way." To Marty's surprise, this time when Doc turns the key, the Delorean starts up like a normal car, and they speed down the road. They pass destroyed fire hydrants spraying, and a building on fire. People are running in the streets.
The face of the clock tower is reflected in the windshield as Marty peers up at it. Doc parks the Delorean in the deserted town square as electricity snakes and flickers around the rooftops of the buildings. "This is the spot."
"It's there," Marty says, pointing to the clock tower. A small lightning rod extends from its peak. "This is where I ended up the first time I came back."
Doc nods knowingly. "Marty. You need to set the clock to the exact time it was when you first arrived here." Marty looks up at the clock tower, repeatedly lit up by the flashes of lightning, and sets his jaw resolutely.
We are then treated to a five minute suspenseful scene of Marty climbing up the side of a building while lightning tries to strike it. No dialogue except for random grunts. Meanwhile, Doc has popped the hood of the Delorean and there are cables running from the engine to the remote control as Doc furiously presses buttons.
When Marty finally reaches the face of the clock tower, he struggles to turn the hands of the clock to read 5:15pm. Squinting from the bright light of the electricity that has enveloped the top of the tower, he gives Doc a thumbs up.
"It's time, Doc!" he yells as the light gets brighter. "Take me back to 1972. We've got to go back to the future once and for all!"
Doc smiles maniacally and pulls down his goggles. "It's travelin' time!" he yells and pushes the big red button on the remote control. The car and the clock face begin to glow brightly as the lightning converges on the tower. Marty shields his face and in a desperate attempt to avoid the lightning, leaps from the rooftop. Mid-jump, both he, Doc, and the Delorean vanish into thin air. The lightning has ceased and the town square is quiet and empty.
Interior shed, smoky, night. The Delorean clicks and hisses as it cools down. Doc and Marty are climbing out.
"You better check your gadget one more time, Doc," Marty says as he peers out the window towards the back of his house. "I don't want to find another Bif Senior in there..."
Doc presses buttons on the remote control and shows Marty the display panel. 1972.
Marty smiles, and there is a brief pause. He looks up at Doc. "Thanks..."
"No problem. I'll be seeing ya around, kid," Doc gives him a toothy grin and turns back to the Delorean. Marty opens the door of the shed and steps out into the night.
Marty quietly opens the door and walks inside the house. He makes his way to the same living room, which is now bathed in a warm glow from a lamp. He can hear hushed voices. His mother and father are sitting on the sofa, having a pleasant conversation. They smile when they see him come in.
"Marty..." she smiles and stands up, coming over and kissing his forehead. "The mail was late. Look what came for you."
She hands him an envelope addressed to Marty McFly. The return address says Boston University. Marty silently opens the envelope and reads the letter, then looks at his parents and grins.
"I'm going to get us some cookies and milk to celebrate!" Deborah says happily, clapping her hands. She hugs Marty and leaves the room. Marty plops down in the chair next to the sofa where his father sits.
"I'm proud of you, son," Joe says to Marty.
"Thanks, Dad." A beat passes. "Say, I never asked before. How did you and Mom meet?"
Joe smiles and takes off his reading glasses as he stares out the window. "Your mother was one of a kind. She was the prom queen, you know," he says.
"Really.."
"I never thought in a million years she could be interested in a guy like me."
"But?"
"But, that's what you do when you love someone," he says, looking at Marty. "You don't give up. You keep proving your worth until it shines so brightly that they can't help but see it. I wasn't the most dazzling kid in high school. But I worked hard and I treated her with respect, and with time, I won her over. And I couldn't be happier with my life." He smiles a little awkwardly at the confession and looks back at the window. Deborah comes in with the platter of cookies.
"What's that?" she asks as she sits back down next to him. Marty takes a cookie.
"Nothing," Joe says and they smile at each other. As Marty eats the cookie, Joe puts his arm around his wife and kisses her cheek. Deborah beams. Marty smiles to himself. Everyone smiles.
Scene change. Exterior, Boston University, springtime. "She's a Lady" by Tom Jones plays. Marty and Sandra kiss under flowering trees on the campus of Boston University. Sandra is wearing a lavish engagement ring that sparkles in the sunshine. The camera briefly lingers on Bif, middle-aged, working as a street sweeper. He looks miserable. As the camera zooms out on the campus and the surrounding area, we see a Delorean pop into the foreground with a blue flash. Credits roll as we pan up to an uninterrupted shot of blue sky.
THE END
https://pleroma.skyshanty.xyz/media/fdc5b59ec1e571dbf33c30958101f633f48bcf5649a849853d3e4f43fafef429.mp3
Dissolve to interior, hallway with lockers. It is 1972 and cool guy Marty McFly is leaving class. He adjusts his varsity jacket, his trusty orange vest underneath. His girlfriend Sandra, who has frizzy shoulder-length hair, meets him at his locker.
"Ready for the game this weekend, Marty?" she says, chewing bubblegum.
"I think so, Sandra," Marty replies. He is down to earth and naturally talented at everything, but still has to seem humble and unaware of his gifts so as to be likeable to the audience.
"Heads up!" a voice shouts from offscreen. Marty looks up and catches a football against his chest. Marty's black friend Sam jogs past, pointing at his friend while Marty passes him the ball back. "You coming to practice?"
"I can't today, I got to work on a project," Marty drawls back. Sam runs off. Marty and Sandra leave the school to walk home together.
"It's gonna be good, right, Marty?" Sandra says, looking up at him with doe eyes as they stand on a sidewalk in the town square. A large clock tower casts a shadow over the three way intersection. The time reads 4:15pm. "When we go off to college next year?"
"Yeah Sandra it's gonna be radical," he replies. "I'm going to get accepted to Boston too, you'll see."
"I'll just be so much happier when I know for sure!"
He kisses her on the cheek and puts on his sunglasses.
"I'm home!" Marty yells as he comes in through the back door of his house, taking off his sunglasses.
"How was school, Marty?" his mother, Deborah, says, stepping away from the sink and wiping her hands on her apron. His father, Joe, seated at the table, flicks his newspaper and eyes him over the top.
"It was good. Any mail come for me today?"
Deborah smiles sympathetically and touches her husband's shoulder. "Not today. You want something to eat?"
"I'll eat later, Ma," Marty says, running out of the kitchen as he takes his bookbag off his shoulder and removes his varsity jacket.
Deborah continues to rub her husband's shoulder. "He's such a good boy, Joe. He wants to go to Boston University just like his dad."
"Yes, Deborah," Joe grunts in response, still reading the paper.
Shot of the interior of a large shed as Marty opens the door. A dusty work table holds a diorama he has been working on for the science fair. He sighs and begins tinkering with parts of it.
Suddenly, there is a huge flash of light and a loud explosion behind him. Marty jumps, knocking over the diorama. The shed is filled with smoke. After several moments, Marty is able to see a little more clearly. He steps forward.
The music swells as a large Delorean is revealed, suddenly sitting in the middle of the shed.
Marty's mouth hangs open as he approaches the door. He has never seen such a futuristic-looking 90's car. His hand, trembling, reaches out for the handle, when suddenly there is a loud hissing sound and the doors begin to raise. Marty jumps back as both sides open vertically.
"Oh.. Ouch..." a voice grunts as a figure emerges from the smoking car. It is an old man in a scientist coat with wild frizzy white hair. He looks extremely disheveled. After a moment, he notices Marty with some surprise.
"Oh. It's you! Get in!"
"G-Get in? What do you mean?" Marty stammers, but the man is already crawling back in to the driver's seat.
"The quantum flux capacitor seems to be having problems, but if you're here then that means we must be on the right track," the man says, looking at the complicated dashboard. When Marty doesn't move, he looks up. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
Without thinking, Marty dashes for the passenger seat and sits down, looking at the old man with a bewildered expression. The doors begin to close and Marty looks at them uneasily. The man is still fiddling with knobs and levers.
"If you were just going to ditch me once we got back here, then why did you even ask for my help?" the man laments to Marty.
"Me? I asked for your help?" Marty asks. The man is revving the engine.
"Yes, that's precisely what you said. 'Doc, take me back to 1972.' There we go, it's ready." The Delorean begins to rumble and a seatbelt slides down automatically into place over Marty's chest. Doc looks over at Marty with a wild glint in his eye and grins.
"Hold on tight, kid, it's travelin' time!"
In a blinding flash of white light, the Delorean begins to smear forward as it's pulled into a time warp. We get a brief scene of flashing tunnels of light and Marty screaming as he grips the inside of the door.
Extreme closeup of Marty with his eyes squeezed shut. After a moment, we zoom out to see he is no longer in the Delorean.
Marty opens his eyes and looks around in shock, gasping for breath. He is standing in the same town square that he had passed through earlier with his girlfriend. The clock tower shows 5:15pm. Something seems different, though.
The trees are smaller. The shops seem more antique. The movie titles on the marquee are different.. They're for old movies. Couples walk arm in arm together gaily. He realizes all the girls are wearing poodle skirts and have their hair curled at the end.
Confused, Marty dashes to a newspaper machine. "FIVE CENTS" the sticker says. "Five cents..." Marty mouths to himself as he digs in his pocket breathlessly. He pulls out a nickel and fumbles it into the slot, pulling out a paper and inspecting it frantically.
"THE LEXINGTON TIMES
Thursday, September 18, 1952"
Marty lowers the paper, staring around in shock and horror. He sits down on a bench and puts his hand to his head.
After a few minutes, his stomach growls. He frowns and looks around, noticing the Taco Hell taco stand across the square. He stands up and uneasily walks towards it.
Interior Taco Hell, evening.
The bell on the door jingles as Marty walks in to a harshly lit, sterile taco shop. Several tables are occupied, some with teens sipping sodas, some with old people. A pimply teen in a paper hat stands behind the counter.
"Welcome to Taco Hell, can I take your order," the kid says to him unenthusiastically. He seems to be about Marty's age. Marty looks at the menu above.
"I'll, uh, I-I'll just have the taco combo," Marty says, still shaken. The boy starts preparing his order as Marty looks around. Outside, a woman rides by on a vintage bicycle. Suddenly, bell of the door jangles as it whips open. A cool-looking guy walks in, flanked by two cronies. He has cool black greaser hair and cool clothes and jeans. He saunters in, laughing loudly with his buddies. He walks up to the counter and unabashedly goes behind it, grabbing a tortilla chip from a basket.
"You can't be back here," the teen says annoyedly.
"Well hurry it up, won't ya?" the bully booms as he strolls back to the front of the counter. "We're starvin' here!"
The teen is putting Marty's tacos into a small cardboard dish. "That'll be fifty cents," he says sullenly, still eyeing the kid and his two friends as they whoop and holler, rough-housing in the restaurant and causing a chair to rattle, startling two elderly patrons seated in the booth by the window. Marty digs into his vest pocket and produces a wrinkled $10 bill and lays it on the counter. The teen looks at it uncomfortably, then back at Marty.
"U-Uh.. I'll have to see if I can make change.." he hesitantly opens the register. The bully comes over.
"Well! Ten dollar bills for tacos, eh? Just how much dough ya carrying around, kid?" He gets all up in Marty's face.
"Probably more than you," Marty replies a little more confidently, puffing out his chest, which already looks puffy because of his famous vest that he never removes, even during sex with his hot girlfriend Sandra.
"What did you just say to me?!" the boy shouts. We get a shot of them nose to nose.
"Leave him alone, Bif!" a sweet, melodic voice rings out. They turn to see a teenage girl standing up from one of the tables where she has been with her friends. She is also wearing a poodle skirt and looks extremely 50's.
"Aw, Dee, we was just playin' around," Bif scratches his head and turns his attention to his buddies. Dee walks up to Marty.
"I've never seen you in here before. You from around here?" she smiles.
Marty stammers. "U-Uh, no! I'm just visiting some family." His instinct to chat up a cute girl kicks in.
"Do you wanna come eat your tacos with us?" she gestures to the table where two other girls chew on their straws and smile languidly.
"Sure! You ladies want anything?" he grins. The girls immediately perk up and look at each other excitedly. Bif looks annoyed.
Marty sits with the three girls over various baskets of cheap tacos and tortilla chips. Bif has fucked off after bothering the cashier a little more. Dee squeezes Marty's bicep.
"You play sports?" she says in a breathy voice.
"Yeah, I'm on the football team. Varsity," Marty replies with a slanted, confident smile. "Maybe we'll play you guys sometime. Would sure love to see you in your cheerleader uniforms." The girls giggle.
After dinner, Dee and Marty walk slowly through the town square. It is nighttime and the clock face is illuminated. Dee holds her jacket in her arms.
"Maybe you could come pick me up after school tomorrow," Dee says, "and we could go see it together?"
"Sounds far out!" Marty says.
Dee looks at him all dreamily and waves goodbye as she heads off. Marty sighs and puts his hands in his vest pockets, plopping down onto a bench.
After a few moments, he notices a figure across the town square, bobbing up and down as they seem to be looking at him. Marty squints and sits up.
The person seems to recognize him and starts heading his way. As they pass under a streetlamp, Marty sees the lab coat and frizzy white hair. He jumps to his feet.
"Hey!" he rushes over to Doc. The old man is out of breath.
"Have.. Have we met before?" he says, labored. "You look real familiar."
"Yes we've met before, you're the one who brought me here!" Marty says through clenched teeth. "Now tell me just what is going on!"
"So, you're not from this time period?"
"No, I'm from 1972. Nineteen-seventy-two. And I'm pretty sure this is NOT 1972!"
Doc sighs and produces a complicated-looking remote control from his lab coat pocket. He pulls up a long antennae and flips a switch. It begins to beep.
"No.. In fact.. By my calculations, we are in precisely 1952 right now."
"Well why the hell did you bring me here!" Marty shouts.
"Oh, Doc, you've really done it this time," Doc says to himself miserably. "Did the Doc who brought you here tell you why?"
"NO!"
"Well, no worries, just stay put. We'll figure it all out. Get some rest." Doc turns away from him.
"Wha-where?!" Marty starts after him. The old man heads down an alleyway. Marty follows. "You can't just leave me here, take me home!"
"I need some time to configure the Delorean," Doc says as they walk into a small space between the buildings where the futuristic car is parked. Smoke trails out of the back of it. Marty sighs, his brow furrowed.
Scene change. Marty stands in front of a large front desk in the deserted lobby of a hotel. He places another ten dollar bill on the counter. The woman behind the desk picks it up, looking at him suspiciously.
"You said you only wanted to stay for ONE night...?"
Scene change. Marty sits at a small, round table outside a restaurant in the town square, eating a plate of eggs. He watches the 50's antics happening around him.
Exterior, Land Valley High School, afternoon.
It is afternoon, and Marty walks past the sign for Land Valley High School. He opens the door to the building and walks inside, making his way to the quad.
In the quad, Dee is seated on a bench waiting for him. She smiles when she sees him.
"You came!" she pats the bench next to her. He takes a seat and she digs in her purse. She produces a small handkerchief which she unties to reveals spritz cookies. "Try these, I made them with my mother last night," she gushes. Marty takes one and pops it in his mouth.
"Huh, these are really good. My mom likes to bake stuff like this."
"That's swell," she smiles as he munches on the cookies. Suddenly, they hear a commotion behind them.
"Get the hell out of the way!" shouts Bif as he kicks a kid to the ground. His books fly everywhere. As the kid raises his head, Marty notices it is the taco shop employee.
"Stop it, leave him alone!" Dee cries as she runs over. Marty follows and pushes Bif away as he looms over the kid.
"Hey, why don't you mess with someone your own size?" Marty says, pushing his chest against Bif's. Bif glowers at him angrily.
"Like you, nimrod?" Bif retorts. "I'll take you on anytime!" A crowd is beginning to gather, whispering excitedly.
"Fine, then, Bif! My name is Marty and I challenge you..." he points his finger at Bif. "To a dance-off!"
Bif looks confused. Marty steps up onto a table and pulls his sunglasses out of his vest pocket and slips them on.
"Hit it, boys." A mic drops into his hand from off-camera.
Music beings to play: the song "She's a Lady" by Tom Jones. Marty begins to sing the song perfectly, boogieing around the courtyard to the delight of the students. None of them have ever heard this catchy and upbeat song. People begin to cheer and dance with him. Bif is horrified and embarrassed. At several points, Marty sings directly to Dee as she stares at him with starry eyes. By the end of the song, Bif has fled, humiliated, from the school grounds.
Exterior, Land Valley High School, sunset.
The crowd cheers for Marty and carries him out of the school on their shoulders. Dee trails behind and waits for him as the crowd disperses.
"Gee, Marty," Dee says, blushing. "You're really the bee's knees."
"Aw shucks, it was nothing," Marty grins sheepishly, taking off his sunglasses.
"Ready to go see the film?" she asks. He nods and they walk off holding hands.
Scene change. It is nighttime in the town square once again. A full moon hangs in the sky, mirroring the face of the clock tower. People are trickling out of the cinema. Dee looks up at Marty.
"I had a really nice time tonight, Marty."
"Me too."
She leans up and kisses him on the cheek. He watches her walk away, smiling happily. After a moment, he looks down at his hand.
A dissonant chord plays as he realizes his hand has become translucent. He holds it up in horror as the matter of his hand seems to shift, becoming partially see-through. After a few seconds, it stops and he breathes a sigh of relief. He heads into the taco shop to get a late night snack.
The place is noticeably emptier this time. The same teen stands, bored, behind the counter, and looks up at he sees Marty walk in in his distinctive getup.
"Oh... H-hey there," the kid says, flustered, remembering the events of earlier in the day.
"Hey, man, I'm sorry about that guy Bif," Marty begins to cut the tension. "He's an asshole."
"Oh. It's alright. ...Thanks." There is a pause. "What did you want?"
"Can I get the taco combo again?" The boy nods.
Marty smiles and sits down on one of the stools at the counter, glancing at the paper for a moment.
"Say, that girl you were with, Dee... She didn't come in tonight. She usually comes after school," the boy says to Marty as he cooks. "Were you two on a date?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Marty grins sheepishly. The boy nods, looking distinctly disappointed at the news. "I should have guessed a girl like that would have a boyfriend..."
"Well, I don't know about 'boyfriend'," Marty begins, but the boy waves. He sets down the tacos on the counter and Marty puts his hand in his pocket.
"It's on the house. I owe you one... Marty, was it?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Thanks, Marty. My name's Joe-"
Suddenly, the door bursts open, the bell rattling wildly. Doc rushes in. "Marty!"
Both boys look at him in shock. Doc runs over to him, barely able to contain himself. "It's fixed, we can go now." He turns to look briefly at Joe. "Hello." He turns back to Marty. "You ready?"
"I-I guess so," Marty frowns, unsure of what to do. He scoops up the dish of tacos and follows Doc outside and back to the alley. The Delorean is activated now and its headlights are on.
Marty finishes one of the tacos and sets the container down on top of a dumpster. He takes his sunglasses out of his vest pocket and puts them on. Doc is opening the doors of the Delorean with a hydraulic hiss.
"Well, I guess it's time to go back..." he whips off his shades and looks into the camera, "to the future!"
He hops in the passenger seat with much more eagerness than the first time as Doc again fiddles with the controls. The doors close and the seatbelt comes down.
"It's travelin' time!" Doc hollers with glee as the engine noise increases. The Delorean rockets forward into hyperspace. Doc and Marty rattle up and down. After another time travel montage, the Delorean is back in the shed, which has once again filled with smoke. The doors raise and Marty steps out cautiously. Doc, on his side, jumps out much more enthusiastically.
"Marvelous! Just marvelous! She's working just as intended!" Doc says, examining his remote control. Marty ignores him and opens the door of the shed. He steps out into the quiet night air. The lights are on inside his house. He can see the flickering cast by a television set in the living room.
Marty enters through the back door and the murmuring of the television can be heard.
"Where the fuck have you been?!" a loud, gruff voice booms from the living room. Marty stops dead in his tracks, not recognizing the voice. After a moment, he cautiously walks towards the living room.
"Why aren't you answering me? Huh?"
As the camera rounds the corner to reveal the living room, bathed in blue light from the television, we see a slovenly man with a pot belly wearing a wife beater sitting on a couch, eating pork rinds from a plastic bag. His black hair is greased back behind his receding hairline. He is Bif Senior.
Marty takes a step back in shock when he sees him. The man sits up, craning to see Marty in the doorway. "The hell's wrong with you?" Marty turns and runs away, through the kitchen into the bathroom. He fumbles with the light switch and flicks it on, revealing the mirror above the sink. Bif's face stares back at him from the mirror, equally horrified.
"Oh, God!" Marty moans in despair. He stumbles out the back door and runs to the shed. Doc is still standing next to the Delorean, playing with his remote control. He has goggles on now.
"Doc, something terrible has happened. This isn't the right future. I'm not the right me!" He reaches down to adjust his trademark vest and realizes he is no longer wearing it, but a black leather jacket. He recoils in horror. Doc lifts up his goggles and peers at Marty.
"Hmm.. You look the same to me," he shrugs.
"It's no good, Doc. We have to go back! Back... to the past!" He does not look into the camera this time, but pleadingly at Doc.
"Well, if you say so," Doc says and pushes a button on the remote control, causing the car's doors to open once again. They crawl in.
Interior Delorean. Doc flicks all the levers on the console once more and they shift into gear, phasing out of the shed. As the hyperdrive engages, the dashboard explodes with blue electricity. Doc yelps and recoils.
"Wh-what was that?!" Marty yells over the roar as they rattle violently through hyperspace.
"I-It's the c-capacitor, it's overloading!" Doc shouts as sparks dance before them. Marty shields his eyes as the view in front of the windshield grows brighter and brighter until it whites out the frame.
Marty opens his eyes. He is his old self, in his regular outfit. He breathes a sigh of relief.
He is standing at the entrance to the high school gymnasium. The lights are dimmed, and people are milling about inside. Music is playing softly. He can see the girls are wearing long, puffy dresses. He steps through the doorway into the room, looking up at the strings of balloons hanging from the rafters. Dee is walking up to him in a baby blue gown.
"I was afraid you wouldn't come," she smiles, glancing in confusion at how underdressed he is. "Well, it's no matter. Do you want some punch?" she grabs his hand and pulls him over to the punch bowl. He follows her, dazed by his surroundings. Suddenly, a microphone whistles and the music stops. A man coughs and adjusts his glasses on stage.
"Good evening, everyone! We hope you've been enjoying your prom so far. We have finished tallying the votes for prom king and queen, and it's time to announce your winners!"
The audience claps in delight and gathers around the stage. Dee squeezes Marty's hand, her eyes bright. "Oh, this is it!" she says in a hushed voice. They head towards the stage as well.
The man on stage produces an envelope and opens it, unfolding the piece of paper and squinting at it.
"This year's prom king by popular vote is.. Marty.. McFly?" the man half asks, confused. He looks up, searching the dark audience. The crowd looks around expectantly.
"Huh, me?" Marty says in a low voice. Dee turns to him.
"Is that you?" she tilts her head. "Are you related to Joe McFly?" she glances past Marty across the room. Marty follows her gaze to see the boy from the taco shop lurking in the corner in a shabby tux.
The audience is clapping and the spotlight has found Marty. Everyone is waiting for him to go up on the stage. Hesitantly, bewildered, he climbs the stairs and lets the confused principal place the crown on his head. The crowd erupts into cheers for their new hero. The principal turns back to the microphone.
"Uh, well anyway, and now to announce this year's prom queen.." he checks the paper. "It's Deborah Buford!"
Marty's eyes widen and his head swims as Dee's full name is read aloud and he realizes why she looks so familiar to him. He watches his mother gasp in delight, her hands over her mouth as she eagerly runs up onto the stage, accepting the bouquet of flowers and the crown. She grins at Marty. "Can you believe it?!" Confetti rains down from the rafters and the audience cheers uproariously. Dee grabs his hand and cameras flash as Marty stares straight ahead in disbelief. Near the back of the gymnasium, Marty suddenly notices Joe turn to leave, his shoulders slumped. Joe, his father. His father who he is ruining things for. He looks down, and his free hand is once again phasing out of existence. HE is phasing himself out of existence.
"Booooo!" comes a loud yell from the back of the crowd. People turn to see who's yelling. Bif, his tuxedo unbuttoned, cups his hands around his mouth as he loudly heckles the couple on stage. He picks up a punch glass and throws it, nearly hitting Marty. The audience gasps.
Suddenly, a loud crash rings out as the roof of the gymnasium breaks open and a massive lightning strike comes down the basketball hoop. People scream in horror and begin to scatter. Marty recognizes it as the same lightning as in the Delorean. "We've got to get out of here!" he yells to Dee, grabbing her hand.
Dee follows Marty as they run into the hallway. Thunder and lightning crash outside, searing the ground just outside the windows. Dee shrieks in fear. As they reach the front door the school, Marty sees the Delorean parked on the street. He turns to Dee.
"You have to get to safety." Joe is lurking nearby. They run over to him and Marty puts Dee's hand in Joe's. "Go with Joe. He's the best guy I know. He'll take care of you." Dee looks at Joe in confusion, but another loud lightning crack startles her into submission. She nods with tears in her eyes. Joe puts his arm around her and they hurry out. Marty runs to the Delorean. A violent thunderstorm, rain-free, is brewing ominously in the sky.
"What the heck is going on, Doc?!" he yells. Doc has his goggles on and the remote control is beeping furiously. The old man shakes his head.
"The timelines are converging. The fabric of spacetime is ripping apart. We jumped too many times! The universe is trying to get rid of us to correct the discrepancy!" He raises the doors of the Delorean and they jump inside as lightning strikes the ground nearby. The doors can't seem to close fast enough this time.
"Wh-what do we do?" Marty asks. There is sweat on his forehead.
"My radar is showing a strong source of quantum energy near here. We've got to head that way." To Marty's surprise, this time when Doc turns the key, the Delorean starts up like a normal car, and they speed down the road. They pass destroyed fire hydrants spraying, and a building on fire. People are running in the streets.
The face of the clock tower is reflected in the windshield as Marty peers up at it. Doc parks the Delorean in the deserted town square as electricity snakes and flickers around the rooftops of the buildings. "This is the spot."
"It's there," Marty says, pointing to the clock tower. A small lightning rod extends from its peak. "This is where I ended up the first time I came back."
Doc nods knowingly. "Marty. You need to set the clock to the exact time it was when you first arrived here." Marty looks up at the clock tower, repeatedly lit up by the flashes of lightning, and sets his jaw resolutely.
We are then treated to a five minute suspenseful scene of Marty climbing up the side of a building while lightning tries to strike it. No dialogue except for random grunts. Meanwhile, Doc has popped the hood of the Delorean and there are cables running from the engine to the remote control as Doc furiously presses buttons.
When Marty finally reaches the face of the clock tower, he struggles to turn the hands of the clock to read 5:15pm. Squinting from the bright light of the electricity that has enveloped the top of the tower, he gives Doc a thumbs up.
"It's time, Doc!" he yells as the light gets brighter. "Take me back to 1972. We've got to go back to the future once and for all!"
Doc smiles maniacally and pulls down his goggles. "It's travelin' time!" he yells and pushes the big red button on the remote control. The car and the clock face begin to glow brightly as the lightning converges on the tower. Marty shields his face and in a desperate attempt to avoid the lightning, leaps from the rooftop. Mid-jump, both he, Doc, and the Delorean vanish into thin air. The lightning has ceased and the town square is quiet and empty.
Interior shed, smoky, night. The Delorean clicks and hisses as it cools down. Doc and Marty are climbing out.
"You better check your gadget one more time, Doc," Marty says as he peers out the window towards the back of his house. "I don't want to find another Bif Senior in there..."
Doc presses buttons on the remote control and shows Marty the display panel. 1972.
Marty smiles, and there is a brief pause. He looks up at Doc. "Thanks..."
"No problem. I'll be seeing ya around, kid," Doc gives him a toothy grin and turns back to the Delorean. Marty opens the door of the shed and steps out into the night.
Marty quietly opens the door and walks inside the house. He makes his way to the same living room, which is now bathed in a warm glow from a lamp. He can hear hushed voices. His mother and father are sitting on the sofa, having a pleasant conversation. They smile when they see him come in.
"Marty..." she smiles and stands up, coming over and kissing his forehead. "The mail was late. Look what came for you."
She hands him an envelope addressed to Marty McFly. The return address says Boston University. Marty silently opens the envelope and reads the letter, then looks at his parents and grins.
"I'm going to get us some cookies and milk to celebrate!" Deborah says happily, clapping her hands. She hugs Marty and leaves the room. Marty plops down in the chair next to the sofa where his father sits.
"I'm proud of you, son," Joe says to Marty.
"Thanks, Dad." A beat passes. "Say, I never asked before. How did you and Mom meet?"
Joe smiles and takes off his reading glasses as he stares out the window. "Your mother was one of a kind. She was the prom queen, you know," he says.
"Really.."
"I never thought in a million years she could be interested in a guy like me."
"But?"
"But, that's what you do when you love someone," he says, looking at Marty. "You don't give up. You keep proving your worth until it shines so brightly that they can't help but see it. I wasn't the most dazzling kid in high school. But I worked hard and I treated her with respect, and with time, I won her over. And I couldn't be happier with my life." He smiles a little awkwardly at the confession and looks back at the window. Deborah comes in with the platter of cookies.
"What's that?" she asks as she sits back down next to him. Marty takes a cookie.
"Nothing," Joe says and they smile at each other. As Marty eats the cookie, Joe puts his arm around his wife and kisses her cheek. Deborah beams. Marty smiles to himself. Everyone smiles.
Scene change. Exterior, Boston University, springtime. "She's a Lady" by Tom Jones plays. Marty and Sandra kiss under flowering trees on the campus of Boston University. Sandra is wearing a lavish engagement ring that sparkles in the sunshine. The camera briefly lingers on Bif, middle-aged, working as a street sweeper. He looks miserable. As the camera zooms out on the campus and the surrounding area, we see a Delorean pop into the foreground with a blue flash. Credits roll as we pan up to an uninterrupted shot of blue sky.
THE END
https://pleroma.skyshanty.xyz/media/fdc5b59ec1e571dbf33c30958101f633f48bcf5649a849853d3e4f43fafef429.mp3